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DB2 Family what does it mean?

I hope that anyone who reads articles on dWorks understands that DB2 runs on multiple platforms. A couple of months ago, I was surprised to find a large number of attendees at a data warehousing conference who still think of DB2 as a database that runs ONLY on the mainframe!

Of course DB2 has servers that run on the mainframe, including s/390, z/OS, VM, VSE, and midrange systems such as iseries or OS/400.

But it also runs on Linux and UNIX such as AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris.

And Windows!

(Clients exist for all platforms as well.)

Most of the people at the conference were using competitive programs such as Oracle or SQL Server, so perhaps it is understandable that they were unaware of the platforms that DB2 runs on, but the next time I work at a similar conference, I'm going to ask for a huge sign that says DB2 runs on Windows!

The fact that we have servers on so many platforms is a huge benefit to our customers in that the function is the same (or very similar) regardless of which platform is being used. Applications can be developed on one platform and then executed on others against data in DB2 on any of the platforms. But the biggest benefit is the transfer or reuse of skills.

Our certification program was designed to take advantage of the similarities across multiple platforms by having exams that can work for everyone:

Exam 700 DB2 Family Fundamentals (http://www.ibm.com/certify/certs/dbdaudv81.shtml) Passing this exam earns you an IBM Certified Database Associate Certification. Every question on the exam is true on ALL of the following platforms: UNIX, Linux, Windows, iseries, and z/OS. The exam covers the following topics:

Exam 703 DB2 Family Application Development (http://www.ibm.com/certify/certs/dbapudv81.shtml) Passing this exam (plus Exam 700 or equivalent) earns you an IBM Certified Application Developer Certification. The questions on this exam allow you to create an application that can access any of the DB2 servers, regardless of the platform. The exam covers the following topics:

Of course you'll have to know a fair amount about the other section of the test if you do not know ODBC or Java.

A few years ago, we tried to combine the DBA exams for all the platforms, but we found that we were only able to do so for the Linux, UNIX and Windows platforms, since the tasks for these platforms are virtually identical. See Exam 701 DB2 UDB V8.1 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Database Administration (http://www.ibm.com/certify/certs/dbdbudb81.shtml). We needed to cover the DBA tasks for the z/OS platform in a different exam to adequately cover the range of topics that are essential. See Exam 702 DB2 UDB V8.1 for z/OS Database Administration (http://www.ibm.com/certify/certs/dbdbudb8os.shtml).

We tend to make the same split for the books by covering all DB2 topics for Linux, UNIX and Windows in the same book and put the DB2 z/OS topics into separate books. We have a few exceptions though:

Quarantine this entry

I work with DB2 on UNIX, Linux and Windows. It would be nice if
instead of having to buy three books there were just three chapters
(or even sections where relevant) about the differences of DB2 on
the different platforms. They certainly have more in common than
their differences.As my five person team also works with MS SQL
Server and Oracle, we each have db platforms with which we are more
familiar. A section of a book, or even a single book which details
differences between the three would be invaluable.

I work with DB2 on UNIX, Linux and Windows. It would be nice if
instead of having to buy three books there were just three chapters
(or even sections where relevant) about the differences of DB2 on
the different platforms. They certainly have more in common than
their differences.As my five person team also works with MS SQL
Server and Oracle, we each have db platforms with which we are more
familiar. A section of a book, or even a single book which details
differences between the three (Linux/UNIX/Windows) would be
invaluable.

Thanks for your comment. Most of our books currently cover DB2 on
UNIX, Linux, and Windows together, and I'll take your comments
seriously when planning for the next version of DB2.One of the
posts I was planning was to cover all the information that I know
of that covers DB2 as well as Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. Stay
tuned.susan

Theron Knapp, I may have misunderstood your suggestion. I wasn't
sure if you meant that you need information to compare DB2, Oracle
and MS Server or information that compares DB2 on the platforms
UNIX, Linux, and Windows.I answered as if you meant the first
option: compare DB2 to Oracle to MS Server. I'm working on a post
now with the help of an expert on migrations between platforms.
When working with her, I showed her your comment and she insists
you meant that you need information that compares DB2 on the
supported platforms.If this is the case, the answer is pretty easy.
There are so FEW differences between DB2 on UNIX, Linux and Windows
that it would make a very chapter in a book. Rather, if there are
differences, it is usually stated at the place where the difference
occurs. I can see if I can find out more for you if you like.Susan